Google! Search for information about that article, video or image. You might get lucky and find various versions or even a reliable site that helps evaluate your source. (Google is obviously not the ONLY way, but one way to start!)
Snopes.com(From their website) With over 20 years' experience as a professional researcher and writer, David Mikkelson has created in snopes.com what has come to be regarded as an online touchstone of rumor research. The site's work has been described as painstaking, scholarly, and reliable
Politifact.com(From their website) PolitiFact is a fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others who speak up in American politics.
Factcheck.org(From their website) We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.
Verifying Images or Videos Online Here are some other tips for verifying the accuracy of images or video that you find online:
Reverse Image Search Use Google to search for images that you find online (or see on websites) to see where else they appear online.
YouTube DataViewer (this tool will extract the clip’s upload time and all associated thumbnail images--you can see which was uploaded first and if an old video is being used as a “scrape” and being claimed to have just occured)
Fotoforensics (uses error level analysis (ELA) to identify parts of an image that may have been modified or “photoshopped”
Jeffrey’s Exif Viewer: Photos, videos and audio taken with digital cameras and smartphones contain Exchangeable Image File (EXIF) information: this is vital metadata about the make of the camera used, and the date, time and location the media was created. This information can be very useful if you’re suspicious of the creator’s account of the content’s origins. In such situations, EXIF readers such as Jeffrey’s Exif Viewer allow you upload or enter the URL of an image and view its metadata.
WolframAlpha (“computational knowledge engine”, which allows you to check weather conditions in at a specific time and place. You can search it using criteria such as “weather in London at 2pm on 16 July, 2014”. )
Online maps: You should identify whether there are any reference points to compare, check whether distinctive landmarks match up and see if the landscape is the same.
Your Turn!
Evaluate the following news stories. Are they reliable? How can you tell? Use the tools and strategies above to evaluate!
Fake News: Sources that entirely fabricate information, disseminate deceptive content, or grossly distort actual news reports
Satire: Sources that use humor, irony, exaggeration, ridicule, and false information to comment on current events.
Extreme Bias: Sources that come from a particular point of view and may rely on propaganda, decontextualized information, and opinions distorted as facts.
Conspiracy Theory: Sources that are well-known promoters of kooky conspiracy theories.
Rumor Mills: Sources that traffic in rumors, gossip, innuendo, and unverified claims.
State-sponsored News: Sources in repressive states operating under government sanction. Propaganda.
Junk Science: Sources that promote pseudoscience, metaphysics, naturalistic fallacies, and other scientifically dubious claims.
Hate News: Sources that actively promote racism, misogyny, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination.
Clickbait: Sources that provide generally credible content, but use exaggerated, misleading, or questionable headlines, social media descriptions, and/or images.
Proceed With Caution: Sources that may be reliable but whose contents require further verification.
Political: Sources that provide generally verifiable information in support of certain points of view or political orientations.
Credible: Sources that circulate news and information in a manner consistent with traditional and ethical practices in journalism (Remember: even credible sources sometimes rely on clickbait-style headlines or occasionally make mistakes. No news organization is perfect, which is why a healthy news diet consists of multiple sources of information).